What are the different types of personal injury claims, and how do they vary?
Personal injury law encompasses a wide range of cases. These include:
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Medical Malpractice
Premises Liability (such as slip and fall or trip and fall accidents)
Product Liability (for injuries caused by defective products)
Intentional Torts (including assault and battery)
Each type of claim has its own unique elements and requirements, but they all seek compensation for injuries caused by someone else's actions.
Can you explain the differences between intentional torts and negligence in personal injury cases?
In cases involving intentional torts (like assault or battery), the focus is on the defendant’s intent to cause harm. For example, if someone punches you, they intentionally intended to cause you injury. These cases typically have a one-year statute of limitations, and proving intent is key.
In contrast, negligence refers to a failure to act with reasonable care. For example, if a driver runs a red light and causes an accident, they’ve acted negligently. Negligence cases require proof of four key elements:
Duty of care (the defendant had an obligation to act carefully)
Breach of that duty (they failed to meet the required standard)
Causation (their breach led to your injury)
Damages (you sustained actual harm as a result)
Unlike intentional torts, in negligence cases, you don't need to prove the defendant intended harm, but you must demonstrate that their actions were unreasonable under the circumstances. If you can’t prove damages, the case may not succeed.
What exactly is an intentional tort?
An intentional tort involves a deliberate act intended to cause harm. For example, if someone strikes you with the intent to hurt you, that’s battery. If they threaten to strike you but don't make contact, that can be considered assault. These actions create a legal claim for personal injury, even if no physical harm occurs.
How do personal injury claims for accidents differ from medical malpractice?
Motor vehicle accidents are governed by negligence law, meaning you only need to show that another driver failed to follow traffic laws, such as running a red light or not yielding the right of way.
Medical malpractice, on the other hand, requires a higher standard. You need to prove that a healthcare provider failed to meet the accepted standard of care, which often involves expert testimony. Unlike car accidents, where you can usually rely on straightforward evidence (like a police report), medical malpractice requires demonstrating that the healthcare provider’s actions or lack thereof directly caused your injury.
What challenges do you face in product liability cases, and how do you approach them?
In product liability cases, the challenge is often to prove that the product was defectively designed or manufactured. For example, I had a case involving a defective bra where the gel padding expanded and caused burns. The product was discontinued, and the client had discarded the defective item after it malfunctioned, which made proving the defect difficult.
The biggest challenge in such cases is obtaining the defective product itself for expert analysis. If the product is no longer available, or if it's been discarded, it becomes much harder to prove the defect. This highlights the importance of preserving evidence, especially the defective product, as it can be crucial for building a strong case.
How do slip and fall accidents work legally, and what must victims prove to succeed in these cases?
In a slip and fall case, you must show that the property owner knew or should have known about a hazardous condition. If the property owner created the hazard (e.g., by mopping a floor and failing to put up a warning sign), you don’t need to prove that they knew about it, just that they caused it.
There are additional legal protections for property owners, especially in weather-related cases. For example, in New York, the storm in progress rule protects property owners from liability during ongoing storms. However, if they fail to address hazardous conditions, such as icy sidewalks or wet floors, once the storm has passed, they may still be held liable for injuries.
How do premises liability claims work? What responsibilities do property owners have to ensure safety?
Property owners have a responsibility to maintain their property and ensure it's free of hazards. This includes conducting regular inspections, making repairs when necessary, and keeping the area clean and safe. If they know of a dangerous condition and fail to address it, they could be liable if someone is injured as a result.
For example, if a store fails to fix a broken step or a hotel doesn’t repair a cracked tile, and someone is injured because of it, the property owner could be held accountable.
Can you share any success stories highlighting the importance of legal representation in personal injury cases?
One notable success story involved a case where my client fell on a staircase in an apartment building. The building lacked a handrail, and we argued that the absence of the handrail contributed to the injury. While the building was old (built in 1927) and initially appeared to be grandfathered into older laws that didn’t require handrails, we proved that the building had undergone material repairs. This meant they were no longer exempt from the law, which required handrails.
Despite initial pushback, we were able to retain an expert, demonstrate that the repairs should have brought the building up to modern standards, and ultimately secured a significant settlement for my client.
Do you think laws regarding building safety, like the grandfather rule for stairs, should be updated?
In New York and many other cities, older buildings are common, and many have outdated safety features. While the grandfather rule was meant to protect owners from excessive regulation, there should be more flexibility to ensure that safety standards evolve over time. In cases like staircases, it’s crucial to ensure they are safe for everyone, especially as standards change.